NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:NPSP), a biopharmaceutical company
developing innovative therapeutics for rare gastrointestinal and
endocrine disorders, today announced that NASDAQ has halted trading of
the...

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:NPSP), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics for rare gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders, today announced that NASDAQ has halted trading of the company’s common stock.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee is meeting today to review Gattex® (teduglutide), a novel, recombinant analog of human glucagon-like peptide 2 (a protein involved in the rehabilitation of the intestinal lining) being developed for the treatment of adults with short bowel syndrome.

The Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee reviews and evaluates available data concerning the safety and effectiveness of marketed and investigational human drug products for use in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and makes appropriate recommendations to the FDA.

About Short Bowel Syndrome

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a highly disabling condition that can impair a patient's quality of life and lead to serious life-threatening complications. SBS typically arises after extensive resection of the bowel due to Crohn's disease, ischemia or other conditions. SBS patients often suffer from malnutrition, severe diarrhea, dehydration, fatigue, osteopenia, and weight loss due to the reduced intestinal capacity to absorb nutrients, water, and electrolytes. The usual treatment for SBS is nutritional support, including parenteral nutrition (PN) and/or intravenous (IV) fluids to supplement and stabilize nutritional needs.

Although PN can provide nutritional support for SBS patients, it does not improve the body's own ability to absorb nutrients. PN is associated with serious complications, such as infections, blood clots or liver damage, and the risks increase the longer patients are on PN. Patients on PN often experience poor quality of life with difficulty sleeping, and frequent urination, and patients receiving chronic PN often experience a loss of independence.